Toner refill container

ABSTRACT

To facilitate the refilling of a fluid toner into a toner container of a printing of copying device, a toner refill container (16) is used which has a nozzle (20), whose opening is sealed by a foil (5), which can be removed from the nozzle edge (7) by a tear-open or tear-off cord (6) after a coupling ring (17) of the toner refill container (16) has been inserted into the filler neck (22) of a toner container (23). Moreover, the tear-open or tear-off cord (6) is led from the inside of the toner container (23) through a guide channel (18) to the outside.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a toner refill container for copying andprinting devices with a nozzle, which can be inserted into a filler neckof the respective device, and which has a seal.

A refill container of the above type is known in which the knownprinciple of refill cartridges for other purposes, that is, for example,of refill cartridges for fountain pens, is applied, according to which amembrane on the refill cartridge is destroyed or moved out of its sealedposition by a pin on the device. The disadvantage of such a refillcontainer lies in the fact that either the toner container on the devicehas to be reset or, on the other hand, it is essential to use a specialintermediate piece having the pin used to open the refill container.

It is the object of the invention to create a particularly simple tonerrefill container, which can be inserted without an intermediate piecedirectly into the filler neck of known copying and printing devices, andwhich nevertheless can be easily handled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, this object is achieved when the sealcomprises a foil which can be torn open or torn off, which is connectedto at least one tear-open or tear-off cord, which at the nozzleprotruding into the filler neck is led along the nozzle and out of thefiller neck, and which can be operated outside the filler neck.

The toner refill container according to the invention offers theadvantage that it can be closed by a particularly economic method,namely heat sealing, after filling. It is simple to use, and it isunnecessary to use special filler necks or intermediate elements.Compared in particular with solutions in which intermediate pieces areused, the contamination risk to the operating person is considerablyreduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in greater detail below, with reference tothe attached drawing in which:

FIG. 1: shows a perspective view of a first toner refill container,

FIG. 2: shows a perspective view of a second toner refill container, and

FIG. 3: shows a section through a nozzle of a toner refill container,the nozzle being inserted through a filler neck of a copying or printingdevice.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a toner refill container 1, which has a coupling ring 2 andadjoining here a nozzle 3. In the case of FIG. 1, the opening 4 of thenozzle 3 is only partially covered by a foil 5, which is connected to atear-open or tear-off cord 6, which enables the foil 5 to be pulled offfrom the nozzle edge 7 of the nozzle 3. The tear-open or tear-off cord 6passes a guide channel 8 in the area of the coupling ring. A pullingeyelet 9 is arranged at the end of the tear-open or tear-off cord. 10 isthe coupling land, which enables the coupling ring to have a bayonetcatch connection with an appropriately designed filler neck of aprinting or copying device.

With the toner refill container 11 according to FIG. 2, a coupling ring12 encloses, collar-like, a nozzle 13. The tear-open or tear-off cord,here also designated 6, first passes a gap 14 between the coupling ring12 and the nozzle 13, and then passes through a guide channel 15 to theoutside.

FIG. 3 shows a toner refill container 16 with a guide channel 18extending through a coupling ring 17 and a part of the wall adjoiningthis coupling ring. It can be seen that, by operating the tear-open ortear-off cord 6 in the direction of the arrow 19, the foil 5 can bepulled off from the edge 7 of the nozzle 20 without difficulty. Tofacilitate the pulling-off, the nozzle edge 7 occupies an angle αrelative to the longitudinal axis of the toner refill container 16.Preferably, the slope of the nozzle edge is at an angle of at least 45°to the longitudinal axis of the nozzle. It is possible that the nozzleedge 7 can be formed by parts of a curved surface instead of by parts ofa sloping plane. The ease with which the foil 5 is pulled off can beinfluenced by the nozzle edge being suitably shaped.

As can be seen from FIG. 3, the coupling ring 17 is inserted directlyinto the filler neck 22 of the toner container 23 of a printing device.

I claim:
 1. A toner refill container for a copying or printing devicewhich has a toner reservoir including a filler neck defining an inletinto said reservoir, said toner refill container comprising a nozzle forinsertion into said inlet port and a coupling ring, said coupling ringadapted to be secured to said filler neck when said nozzle is insertedinto said inlet port, said coupling ring at least partially surroundingsaid nozzle, said coupling ring defining a guide channel therein, a foilsealing an opening of said nozzle, a cord attached to said foil, saidcord being received in said guide channel in said coupling ring andextending from said filler neck so that said foil may be removed fromsaid nozzle by pulling said cord from outside of said filler neck, anozzle edge bordering the opening of the nozzle having a slope to thelongitudinal axis of the nozzle, and said cord being attached to thelower edge of said foil and extending thereacross when the container isinverted in said filler neck.